"All right, Senior Vermilion Bird, Brother Dragon, there's no need to see me off any further. The most dangerous stretch of sea is behind us, and it's not terribly far from the Blue Mist Island Domain from here. The waters in this area are fairly peaceful, so there's nothing to worry about. Head back to Shibi Hell Island!"
The Vermilion Bird and Long Xiaoxuan had agreed to Jiang Chen's proposal but insisted on escorting him all the way back to the Blue Mist Island Domain. Jiang Chen refused, however. Once they had passed through the most perilous waters, he told them to stop. Any farther, and they might run into human cultivators.
Running into human cultivators meant trouble—plenty of it.
Human cultivators were the most skilled gossips in the world. Once one person found out, within ten days or half a month, the news would spread across the entire Myriad Abyss Island.
When that happened, peace in these waters would be a thing of the past.
"Chen Shao, remember the Vermilion Bird feather I gave you."
"And my dragon scale," Long Xiaoxuan reminded him as well.
Jiang Chen smiled faintly. "Relax, I've kept them safe. If I ever run into real danger, I'll refine them immediately. I'm more afraid of dying than either of you. Ha ha ha."
Previously, both the Vermilion Bird and Long Xiaoxuan had given Jiang Chen a life-bound token. Should Jiang Chen ever face peril, refining the token would allow the Vermilion Bird and Long Xiaoxuan to sense it and pinpoint his location through the token, rushing to his aid at top speed.
Of course, this was purely a precaution against the unexpected. They certainly hoped Jiang Chen would never need to use the life-bound tokens—that would mean he was safe and sound.
After the two sides made their pact, Jiang Chen's silhouette vanished into the void under Long Xiaoxuan's reluctant gaze.
"Xiaoxuan, let's go. I always thought you were aloof and indifferent, figured your bond with Chen Shao was nothing special. Didn't expect you to be so attached to him—ha ha," the Vermilion Bird said, glancing at Long Xiaoxuan with an amused grin.
Long Xiaoxuan snorted. "He is the only human I trust."
The Vermilion Bird sighed pensively. "He isn't the only human I trust, but he is the one I trust most right now. I owe him a great debt."
Long Xiaoxuan fell silent, then muttered, "Let's go."
"Let's!"
……
The City of Miracles in the Blue Mist Island Domain had grown noticeably livelier over the past few months. Every inn was running at full capacity, packed with cultivators from all corners who had flooded in and filled every room to the brim.
These cultivators came from all walks of life—some were rogue cultivators, others hailed from sects, clans, and great families.
Naturally, cultivators from the ten great divine kingdoms would never deign to stay in an inn. When they came to the Blue Mist Island Domain, they were treated as honored guests of the highest caliber.
The receiving party had to curry favor with them and wine and dine them accordingly. As a result, they were housed in highly private and upscale estates—sometimes even official residences. It was absolutely unheard of for them to appear anywhere near the inn district.
The Blue Mist Island Domain itself had been buzzing with excitement these past few months. For this Ancient Jade Grand Assembly, they had invited nearly every major power from the ten great divine kingdoms.
And those powers had shown considerable face—most of them actually sent representatives to attend. Clearly, the Blue Mist Island Domain's Ancient Jade Grand Assembly held a certain degree of appeal even for the ten great divine kingdoms.
This was entirely different from Winterend Island. Winterend Island had to beg the Eight Great Houses of the Duowen Divine Kingdom to visit. The Blue Mist Island Domain, on the other hand, extended invitations. The difference in standing was plain for all to see.
The Yan family of the Eternal Divine Kingdom had been arranged in a modest-sized estate. The treatment was decent enough, but compared to the strongest factions of the Eternal Divine Kingdom, the estate was hardly impressive.
Still, the Yan family couldn't very well complain.
Their standing among the great families of the Eternal Divine Kingdom had declined from what it once was—they were on the verge of falling out of the top tier. To have been allocated a private estate at all, they had no grounds to be picky. It would be unreasonable to make things difficult for the Blue Mist Island Domain over something like this.
Huang'er, as one of the Yan family's younger generation delegates, seemed conspicuously out of place.
The other young geniuses of the family were polite to her on the surface, but at heart, they kept their distance. Deep down, each of them regarded Huang'er as an ill-omened person—someone carrying bad luck that would rub off on anyone who got too close.
So while they maintained their courtesy, whenever any activity or outing was organized, they never invited Huang'er along.
Huang'er, for her part, was perfectly content with the quiet. She had never intended to associate with these so-called family geniuses in the first place. Their silent shunning of her only made things more peaceful.
Still, watching the smug faces of these self-proclaimed prodigies, Huang'er couldn't help but find them faintly amusing.
"No wonder the Yan family goes downhill with each generation. If the younger generation is all this short-sighted and cold-hearted, how can anyone expect them to carry the family's legacy?"
Deep in her heart, Huang'er had no desire to mingle with these family geniuses either. She simply didn't think they were worth her time.
Having once met Jiang Chen, her standards for men had been set for life. Aside from Jiang Chen, the bar she held for any man was extraordinarily high—almost no one could meet it, let alone compare to him.
"Esteemed Elders, I've been cooped up in this estate since we arrived in the City of Miracles many days ago. I'd like to go out for a walk today. May I have your permission?"
The Yan family had actually sent four elders, but only two were publicly present. The other two had arrived in secret, and even Huang'er was kept in the dark.
"Miss Huang'er, your coming here already caused considerable controversy within the family. We took a great risk in allowing it. Please don't make things difficult for us."
"Indeed, the City of Miracles is crowded and chaotic right now. If anything were to happen to you while you're out, how would we explain it to the family?"